Aspartame and heart arrhythmia

This topic was addressed on this forum back in 2001.. Has there been any updates/studies since that time that links or suspects a correllation of the consumption of aspartame to heart arrhythmia. ?
From my personal experience (obviously not a controlled laboratory study), I suspect that there may be. I do not drink much diet soda but was drinking powdered mixes such as Wylers and Crystal Light. It seems I would get symptons if I drank 2 or more glasses during the day. I have tested this enough times to reasonably ascertain that at least for me, there is a high probability that what I was experiencing was related to my aspartame intake.. I am in pretty good shape and have no other health issues.. I have stopped using both of these products and have not experienced any problems since.
Anybody else out there experience the same ??

There is tons of info on Google about aspartame. I stopped using Splenda, and drinks which contain "phenylanine" (all of it belongs in the aspartame family) it gives me anxiety. Even some chewing gum has phenylanine in it. That stuff is everywhere. Of course not all people react to it.

Heart Arrhythmia is listed among many other side effects from aspartame.

I'm not sure I agree with the statement about Splenda being part of the aspartame family. Splenda is made from sucrolose which is a highly digestible compound. It is generally deemed "safe."

I agree that phenylalanine products contain aspartame and should be avoided form various reasons. And Saccharine has its own problems. But aspartame has been clearly shown to cause arhythmias in more than just human subjects.

After I typed this I did a quick web search, and I have to admit...there is some research. I'm not sure how much is valid research and how much is pseudoscience (a risk on the internet)...but a happy medium would suffice. If you use any artificial sweeteners, use splenda, but use sparingly, because you never know.

Actually there is one study showing that aspartame affects magnesium concentration in the organs of rats. Magnesium levels increased in some organs (including the heart) and decreased in others. I suppose (if this is also the case in humans) theoretically aspartame might cause arrhythmias indirectly via alterations in cardiac magensium concentration.

I know for a fact that aspartame bothers my heart. I used to drink ice tea (decaf) with equal all day long. I think that contributed to some of my problems 10 years ago. Now I use Sweet and Low if I have to sweeten anything and for some reason that doesn't bother me.
Frenchie

You would think that someone/organization would have done an in depth study on this already . If I was a MD/ PHD and had ample resources (i.e. grant), I would try to initiate this myself.. I guess there is no empirical data out there that addresses this adequately ??

Yes there are studies out there done by MD's and PhD's. Its on Google. One of the doctors (PhD) name is Janet Hull, she even wrote a book how dangerous Splenda can be for some people.

dolfnlvr,

you are right Splenda is not aspartame, but sucralose. There are tons of side effects listed on the Internet about how dangerous Splenda can be in "some" people. Not everybody gets side effects.

I personally don't care only if I get side effects. Splenda and phenylanine gives me anxiety. "Sweet and Low" (Saccharin) gives me no side effects, but supposely can cause cancer in "some" people. I don't pay it any attention and use it, what the hell, water can even be dangerous if you drink to much.

Just to add, if anybody is interested in more info regarding Aspartame and the effects it has then please don't hesitate to contact me as given what has happened with our son and myself, me and my partner have decided to reasearch the stuff and have made a free info forum about it. I am not sure i can put the link on here though, so anybodys interested then please contact me.

the energy drink i'm about to stop using (lol) has aspartame in it. i used to drink it like water to make my insane deadlines, but at one point i had really bad palpitations/increased heart rate and chest pain -- i thought that was because of the caffeine in it, but after reading your post i'm thinking maybe the aspartame had something to do with it too. thanks

Yes it probably was the aspartame although caffine does have it's effects too. They say aspartame can take at least 60 days to get out of your system, so bear that in mind.

Here is my forum about itif anybody fancies joining it. as i have said above me and my partner designed it to at least help and warn others of the use of this deadly poison, especially as our son nearly didn't make it.

It's so funny that you mentioned aspartame and heart palpitations, because I was having rounds of PVC's last night after drinking half a can of diet lemonade with aspartame in it. Aspartame mimics excitory neurotransmitters in the the brain, causing heart arrhythmias in some people. I just don't get it. There are people in this world who take awful care of themselves...I used to know people who used cocaine, speed, drank like there was no tomorrow, and never complained of heart palpitations, while here I am, having my heart react to a freakin' diet lemonade. It really pisses me off; there is no justice in this world. Why do bad things happen to good people? Perhaps we should all become bad people and maybe our bad luck will go away!

I find this topic really interesting, because in January I decided to go sugar free for awhile to see if it would reduce my PVC's. I have such a sweet tooth, so instead of eating sugary things, I drank Crystal Light whenever I got a sugar craving. I would make a pitcher of it and drink it in one day. After about 2 weeks, I woke up one day with the worst palps I have ever had. I got a skipped beat about every 2 minutes, whereas I normally get only a couple an hour. The only thing I was doing differently was the Crystal Light. I quit drinking it and have not had a day like that since then.

I have to agree, there's a fast food place around the corner from where I work so I often go there for lunch. I've been trying to figure out what it was that I eat there that seems to make my heart problems worse, now I'm thinking it's the soft drinks. Sometimes I order the lemonade, maybe it has aspartame.in it?

I know it affected me. I have had PAC's/PVC's and some bouts of atrial fibrillation for about 15 years. This summer I decided to cut out sugar and started drinking diet Sunkist Lemonade. After two days - I was getting the worse palps I have ever had. I even went to the ER. While I still get skipped beats and palps - they are nothing like they were when I was drinking the diet sodas. I even wore an event monitor, and it showed up. It took at least a month for things to settle down.

I'm 100% certain that phenylalinine causes heart arrythmia in some people. I am one of them. I had arrythmia so badly back in '03 that I couldn't lay down w/o my heart doing crazy things. A friend asked if I was drinking a lot of diet drinks because she had read something about a link to heart issues. I was drinking a lot of diet drinks, and I stopped drinking them to see if that was the cause. The arrythmia disappeared. Poof, gone. If I drink 2 diet drinks now I get arrythmia. If I drink no diet drinks I never have arrythmia. I look for the bold printed reference to phenylalenine in the label for sugar free foods, drinks, etc. now and don't buy products that contain it. Every now and then I have a diet soda, but always limit to one to avoid the consequences.

I've also had arrhythmia, but I managed to cure it on my own. I think aspartame was the main culprit responsible for it, with fluoride in the second place. I did throw out lots of things from my diet, but I feel these two were the main ones causing my arrhythmia. I've even scanned my medical documentation (in Croatian, but you can recognize drug names and disease descriptions in Latin). Check out my story here:http://www.**********.com/a/how-i-cured-my-arrhythmia-a-personal-story

This is interesting becasue I was just talking about this the other day with some colleagues here where I work. I consume HUGE amounts of Aspartame daily. I did as well as before my ablation for SVT. Prior to it, I experimented removing Aspartame from my diet, but didn't notice any difference in my SVT episodes or occasional clusters of PVC's. If I could put the quantity I consume "packets", I'd estimate it to be probably 15-25 of the little blue packets daily, and on some days even more. This would be the stuff I put into my tea, and well as what's already in the diet sodas that I drink. On the weekends, I often have a 32 ounce glass of iced tea in hand, and I personally place 10 packets into each one of those. As an under control by diet only Type 2 diabetic, sugar is not an option.

Simply put:
I personally see no ill-effects from consuming large amounts of Aspartame.

I have a stevia plant and throw the leaves into my smoothies. I like it in lemonade but do feel the bitter taste if I use it in cereal or in cooking. The stevia powder that is. It is also supposed to lower blood pressure so I do have to be careful with it because I have a tendency to have low bp anyway. My second choice is splenda. I'm a little skeptical of aspartame.

Ok, this definitely gave me palpitations/irregular heartbeat. I tried several "experiments" and all had the same result. Two to three cans of asparteme soda (fresca) at dinner, and one at lunch. Would wake up in the morning to frequent irregular beats and some rapid palpitations, as if my heart were twitching. I would lack energy and be sleepy. When going from sitting to walking I actually had to stop walking sometimes for a few seconds because it seemed that my heart was having a hard time adjusting its rate. Then, going one full day with no aspartame, and I would wake up energetic, no palpitations at all, and no problem with my heart rate adjusting to different levels of activity. I tried this "experiment" three seperate times, with the same results and have decided to avoid aspartame altogether. I only started using it about a month ago.

I thought I was going a little crazy. I had a Holter heart monitor thing a couple of years ago and the test came back clean. Doc said my heart racing, skipping & palpitations were probably due to caffeine consumption. I've always consumed Diet colas. So I cut way back on Diet Cola/Pepper and haven't had symptoms for ages.

Then I tried last week to cut out Caffeine. I started drinking Crystal Light all day and a few days ago began having the heart symptoms again! Thank you for all of the comments & personal stories on this topic. I have never let my kids (5 & 6) consume "chemicals" (ie. Splenda, Nutrasweet) and now this Mother Goose is going to lead by example. Do you know that most gum has HFCS AND artificial sweeteners? It's hard to find anything with just SUGAR in it---but I'm going to try for my health and my family's.

It's been a very long time since I have been on here(2007).. I actually forgot that I started this thread.. I have avoided aspartame as much as possible and have NOT had the heart problems since.. Go figure.. Even though it has literally been years, I'd like to thank all for your comments and info..
Cheers and good health to all..

For years I suspected aspartame of causing my PVCs, I stopped using it and had no issues for quite some time. Within the last week they came back with a vengeance, very scary!! I had no idea what was causing them until my wife noticed the " heathy yogurt" she bought for me had Aspartame at the bottom of the ingredient list. I have no doubts as to what causes mine now! I will become a better label reader from here on out!!

I started having PVCs after a contracting a cold in November. I was having daily to weekly PVCs every other beat and attributed it to the nasal decongestant that I was taking. I had also changed from the Splenda packets to the Splenda bag (one for baking) in my daily coffee around the same time. I was watching a Dr. Oz show about how bad artificial sweeteners are for your body and I stopped using the Splenda that day and went back to sugar....after a couple of days I stopped feeling the PVC's. I too will become an avid reader of the ingredients list and eliminate all instances of Aspartame.

Well, you ain't wrong- I know people who smoke, drink to excess, drink caffeinated energy drinks, yet STILL can run mini marathons. And if I ask them 'does your heart ever miss a beat or 'flip flop'? they just look puzzled and go ''Erm what? no...?'
I don't drink anymore, nor smoke, no chocolate or tea/coffee or MSG and have to be careful with aspartame. Its annoying isn't it? !!!

The Content on this Site is presented in a summary fashion, and is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. Med Help International, Inc. is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this Site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties. By using this Site you agree to the following Terms and Conditions. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.